Interview number eleven with Lee Cooperman.

Photo:  Courtesy Lee Cooperman

Justin Higgins:  “Hi Lee, what life advice do you have for young adults?”

Lee Cooperman:  “Hi Justin.  There are five things that I generally like to tell young adults.

First, I tell them about the gazelle and the lion.  Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up and knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.  In life, it doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be running.  I always preach full commitment and hard work in everything you do.   The harder you work, the luckier you are going to get. 

Second, in the wise words of Andrew Carnegie, “I wish to have as my epitaph:  ‘Here lies a man [or woman] who was wise enough to bring into his [or her] service men [or women] who knew more than he [or she]’.”  In your career, always try to find and hire the best people humanly possible because they’ll improve your performance.  Don’t be threatened by strong people.  Be benefited by strong people. 

Third, no matter how wealthy you become, the one luxury you cannot afford is arrogance.  Be nice to people whether they are above you or below you.

Fourth, I quote Henry Ford, who said:  “The best way to make money in business is not to think too much about making it.”  If you do what you love and love what you do, you are bound to be successful.

Lastly, I read a comment many years ago by William Arthur Ward, who gave the following advice:  “Before you speak, listen.  Before you write, think.  Before you spend, earn.  Before you invest, investigate.  Before you criticize, wait.  Before you pray, forgive.  Before you quit, try.  Before you retire, save.  Before you die, give.”  That advice is the arc of a productive life.”

. . .

Lee Cooperman is the Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Omega Advisors, Inc.

At the end of 1991, following 25 years of service, Lee retired from his positions as a General Partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management to organize and launch an investment-management business, Omega Advisors, Inc.

At Goldman Sachs, Lee spent 15 years as a Partner and one year (1990-1991) as of-counsel to the Management Committee. In 1989, he became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Chief Investment Officer of the firm's equity product line, managing the GS Capital Growth Fund, an open-end mutual fund, for one-and-a-half years. Prior to those appointments, Lee had spent 22 years in the Investment Research Department as Partner-in-charge, Co-Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee and Chairman of the Stock Selection Committee. For nine consecutive years, he was voted the number-one portfolio strategist in Institutional Investor Magazine's annual "All-America Research Team" survey.

As a designated Chartered Financial Analyst, Lee is a senior member and past President of the New York Society of Security Analysts. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Saint Barnabas Development Foundation, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a member of the Board of Directors of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a member of the Investment Committee of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Board Chairman of Green Spaces, a committee organized to rebuild 13 parks in Newark, NJ.

Lee received his MBA from Columbia Business School and his undergraduate degree from Hunter College. He is a recipient of Roger Williams University's Honorary Doctor of Finance; a recipient of Hunter College's Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters; an inductee into Hunter College's Hall of Fame; and a recipient of the 2003 American Jewish Committee (AJC) Humanitarian Award, the 2006 Seton Hall Humanitarian of the Year Award, the 2009 Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark Award for Caring, and the 2009 UJA-Federation of New York's Wall Street and Financial Services Division Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2013, Lee was inducted into Alpha Magazine's Hedge Fund Hall of Fame and was honored by the AJC at their 50th anniversary with the Herbert H. Lehman Award for his professional achievements, philanthropic efforts, and longstanding support for AJC. In 2014, Columbia Business School awarded Lee its Distinguished Leadership in Business Award, and Bloomberg Markets named him to its fourth annual "50 Most Influential" list (one of only ten money managers globally to be so honored, selected "based on what they're doing now, rather than past achievements"). He was inducted into the Horatio Alger Society in April 2015.

Interview number one with Anthony Scaramucci.

Photo:  Courtesy Anthony Scaramucci      

Justin Higgins: “Anthony, what life advice do you have for young adults?”

Anthony Scaramucci: “Justin, I would break it down into three components.

Number one is continuing your educational arc. That means a ton of reading, going to conferences, doing a ton of networking is super important and continuing to build your intellectual capital.

Number two, you better start saving money because the government is not going to help you out when you are seventy. Maybe your parents are going to, I don’t know, hopefully they will have some money to give you, but if they don’t, you are going to have to start doing it yourself. The first thing you need to do is pay yourself first. You get all those bills in the mail from the cable and your iPhone and all this other nonsense, write a check out to yourself first for about ten percent of your net disposable income and put it into a savings account, a stock account or a mutual fund. It is something I learned when I was about 26. It really helped me build up a nest egg and got me comfortable leaving Goldman Sachs at the age of 32 to start my own business.

Last thing, super important, you have to find something you love. If you are a young adult, the good news is that you probably had a job or two by now as far as your job experience, maybe you liked it, maybe you disliked it, but ultimately you have to find something you love.”

. . .

Anthony Scaramucci is Assistant to the President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Mr. Scaramucci is the founder and former co-managing partner of SkyBridge Capital.

Mr. Scaramucci is the former co-host of “Wall Street Week,” the iconic financial television show revived in 2015 currently airing on the Fox Business Network, and a contributor to the Fox News Channel. He is the author of three books: The Little Book of Hedge Funds, Goodbye Gordon Gekko and Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole, a 2016 Wall Street Journal best-seller in the business category.

Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Mr. Scaramucci co-founded investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman, LLC in 2001.  Earlier, Mr. Scaramucci was a vice president in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co.

In 2016, Mr. Scaramucci was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® – New York Award in the Financial Services category.

Mr. Scaramucci is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), vice chair of the Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board, a board member of The Brain Tumor Foundation and Business Executives for National Security (BENS), and a Trustee of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation. He was a member of the New York City Financial Services Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2012.

In November 2016 he was named to President-elect Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.

Mr. Scaramucci, a native of Long Island, New York, holds a B.A. in Economics from Tufts University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.